<p>I have a BS and MS in engineering (back in the '80s) with a son who is a rising senior who is very interested in engineering. As we have toured a number of schools, on thing that has struck us is how different schools are answer the following questions:</p>
<p>Do you apply the school in general, to the school of engineering, or to a particular major in the school of engineering?</p>
<p>How common is the first year sequence for prospective engineers? Are they only taking general physics, math and calculus courses, or are they starting to take specific courses in their major (i.e., freshman level Mechanical Engineering courses)?</p>
<p>Is there a freshman seminar that gives the students an overview of all the engineering engineering courses to allow them to better select a major at the end of their freshman year?</p>
<p>I think it would be incredibly helpful (at least to my son and me!) to compile a list of as many schools with ABET accredited programs as to how they would answer these questions. I'll maintain a running log.</p>
<p>Here's something to get us started:</p>
<p>RUTGERS
Apply to school of engineering
Select major at end of freshman year
Common engineering curriculum to all all freshman
Has a freshman seminar course covering all engineering disciplines</p>
<p>LAFAYETTE COLLEGE
Apply to the college, there is no separate College of Engineering
Select major at end of first year
Common engineering curriculum to all freshmen
Has a required Intro to Engineering course which is mostly applied math, but also introduces students to the various disciplines.
Handbook is here: <a href=“http://engineering.lafayette.edu/files/2009/07/Final-Engineering-Handbook-2011_May-17.pdf[/url]”>http://engineering.lafayette.edu/files/2009/07/Final-Engineering-Handbook-2011_May-17.pdf</a></p>
<p>ucbalumnus, great response – thanks! Quick question: are there any disadvantages to coming in engineering undeclared?</p>
<p>University of Connecticut
Apply to School of Engineering
Select major by the end of freshman year (I think the deadline is actually end of the sophomore year, but major specific classes start in sophomore year, so most people decide before then).
Common first semester curriculum. The second semester is the same for most majors too, with the exception of a 3 credit Introduction to Engineering course specific to each major, in which you cover the basic aspects of the major and do a simple design project.
Orientation/Survey class first semester - 1 credit class that covers all (12) of the majors offered and invites professors from each department to discuss the majors to give students an idea of what they might enjoy.</p>
<p>In general public colleges usually require applicants to pick a major or a specific school when applying. Switching to a different engineering major is usually difficult when the major is impacted. Private colleges usually let students pick or change major during the sophomore year or even after that.</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>Engineering undeclared may be more selective than many of the declared engineering majors for freshman admissions.</p>
<p>University of Minnesota - Twin Cities
Apply to the College of Science & Engineering, you can predesignate a major but this doesn’t matter.</p>
<p>Apply to a major after completing the required prerequisite sequence with a certain technical GPA (usually after three semesters).</p>
<p>Curricula are not entirely common, but it is not difficult to keep several options open if you are willing to take a somewhat more demanding courseload.</p>
<p>There is a required one-credit course, CSE 1001, designed to introduce freshman to the college. This is a new addition and they are still working out the kinks.</p>
<p>Compared to other universities, the only big difference is that the UofM will expect students to start out with physics in their first semester.</p>
<p>[Four</a> Year Plans : College of Science & Engineering : University of Minnesota, Twin Cities](<a href=“http://cse.umn.edu/services/advising/CSE_CONTENT_188609.php]Four”>http://cse.umn.edu/services/advising/CSE_CONTENT_188609.php)</p>
<p>Re: #8</p>
<p>Looks like most or all of the majors guarantee admission to the major with a 3.2 technical GPA, with others considered on a space-available basis. But they don’t say what happens if you are unable to get into any of the majors that your course plan up to then is suitable for.</p>
<p>
The current policy guarantees admission if you complete the prerequisite sequence by the end of sophomore fall semester with a 3.2 technical GPA. Students with lower GPAs or those applying later are considered on a space-available basis.</p>
<p>For all of you hopeful CS majors…</p>
<p>This topic is one of the reasons that I like to mention the mathematics major in these engineering discussions as it pertains to CS. Many schools that have these lofty at-end-of-sophomore GPA requirements for the CS major have a MUCH LOWER GPA requirement for the Math major. That gives you a full 4 years to bring that GPA up instead of the pressure of having to do it after 60 credits. On top of that, Math/CS grads are basically seen as the same thing as CS grads in the software world, so that benefited me. I didn’t have to really change my major just because I didn’t have some 3.4 GPA after 60 credits.</p>
<p><strong><em>slightly off-topic soapbox</em></strong></p>
<p>Thanks for all the replies. Here’s a summary so far:</p>
<p>RUTGERS (Post 1)
Apply to School of Engineering
Select major at end of freshman year
Common engineering curriculum to all freshman
Has a freshman seminar course covering all engineering disciplines </p>
<p>UC BERKELEY (Post 2)
Apply to specific major (with different entrance requirements) or select Engineering Undeclared (who select a major at the end of freshman year)
Has an option freshman seminar course covering all engineering disciplines (required for Engineering Undeclared)</p>
<p>LAFAYETTE (Post 3)
Apply to the college, there is no separate College of Engineering
Select major at end of first year
Common engineering curriculum to all freshmen
Has a required Intro to Engineering course which is mostly applied math, but also introduces students to the various disciplines</p>
<p>UCONN (Post #4)
Apply to school of engineering
Select major at end of freshman year
Common engineering curriculum to all freshman
Has a freshman seminar course covering all engineering disciplines in first semester, can take a seminar class specific to a discipline in second semester</p>
<p>MINNESOTA (Post 8)
Apply to the College of Science & Engineering, you can predesignate a major but this doesn’t matter
Apply to a major after completing the required prerequisite sequence with a certain technical GPA (3.2?) usually after three semesters
Curricula are not entirely common, but it is not difficult to keep several options open if you are willing to take a somewhat more demanding courseload
There is a required one-credit course, CSE 1001, designed to introduce freshman to the college</p>
<p>Rutgers, if I may add, kind of has an unusual approach to having students select a specific discipline. Late in the second semester, they actually have a social event, kind of like a fraternity rush night, where faculty and current students from each Engineering department sets up tables and tries “recruit” students into their department. They do not limit the number of students who may sign up for a specific major. I recall it from the 80s when I went to school there and they still do it to this day.</p>
<p>disadvantages to coming in engineering undeclared? - Normally I’d say no. At my engineering school and most others it seems the freshman classes are the same. </p>
<p>However we did have a situation with my older kid (no longer in engineering) at CO School of Mines where some undeclared majors had non-engineering profs. When struggling with pros/cons of sticking with engineering, it’s not all that helpful to have a PE teacher for advisor.</p>
<p>Purdue
You apply as first year engineering. You list the engineering that is most interesting to you on your application, but that is not you declaring a major. I believe it’s used for research purposes about people changing their idea on what to major in during the first year. </p>
<p>In the first year in the engineering program, your classes most commonly consist of: calc 1&2, gen chem 1, physics - modern mechanics, 2 gen eds that are usually speech and writing, computer science or gen chem 2 depending on what major you’re leaning towards, and a first year engineering class. This class is both semesters. The first semester focuses on learning to think like an engineer and how to work in teams and used excel. The second semester is Matlab usage. Also, in the first semester, representatives come from each of the schools within the college of engineering to talk about and allow questions about their school’s majors. </p>
<p>I think that covered everything you asked.</p>
<p>New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology</p>
<p>Apply to department/major
Select major in the application
Each discipline has its own curriculum
Has several freshman seminar courses, each covering a certain group of disciplines.
e.g.: Freshman Seminar for EE, Seminar for General Engineering, Seminar for Computer Science, Seminar for Science and ect…
Also has Living, Learning Community program.</p>
<p>University of Illinois - Urbana-Champaign</p>
<p>Apply to specific engineering major - you can change, but some majors (ME, BME) you can never transfer into due to popularity/size.</p>
<p>There is a engineering orientation, but it is sectioned off into majors.</p>
<p>Not too much common curriculum, you start on your specific major’s track freshman year. In general, all engineers take classes like Calc I-III, Physics, and Chemistry</p>
<p>For Berkeley what’s the difference between computer science in College of Letters and Science and College of Engineering? And is it hard to get into computer science as a freshmen?</p>
<p>[Computer</a> Science - Two Ways | EECS at UC Berkeley](<a href=“http://www.eecs.berkeley.edu/Programs/two_ways.html]Computer”>Undergraduate Admissions & Programs | EECS at UC Berkeley)</p>
<p>EECS has more engineering-type requirements, like physics and EE courses. It also requires some of the humanities and social studies breadth courses to be upper division. For upper division major courses, the student may freely choose EE and CS courses.</p>
<p>L&S CS requires at least six upper division CS courses and one technical elective (CS or otherwise). It does not require physics. L&S breadth requirements do not require any to be upper division.</p>
<p>EECS is ABET-accredited, while L&S CS is not. This may be significant in some niche areas like patent law, though it is not generally an issue otherwise.</p>
<p>L&S is generally considered slightly easier to get into than EECS. Note that L&S freshmen enter undeclared and declare after completing prerequisites; some majors are capped and require applying to declare, though L&S CS is not currently capped. EECS applicants apply directly to the major; trying to change later into EECS or any other engineering major is otherwise difficult.</p>
<p>Are the admission rates for the two programs fairly similar? Are the programs selective? Because I know for UW Direct Freshmen Admit, computer science is extremely selective.</p>